Are you concerned about the rising cost of food? Unsure what the term "certified organic" means? Interested in learning how to grow your own vegetables in a sustainable manner?

Join us for an evening-long workshop on how to grow your own garden. We’ll talk about the basics of soil science, how to enrich your soil to produce healthy, high-yielding plants. Presenters are seasoned MOFGA farmers and gardeners.

Each year MOFGA sponsors this statewide educational event at over 30 different locations in Maine. The workshops are open to the public and to people of all gardening skill and experience levels.

Will Whole Foods’ new mobile slaughterhouses squeeze small farmers?Grist - 11/23/2009.By Tom Laskawy – Massachusetts poultry farmer Jennifer Hashley has a problem. From the moment she started raising pastured chickens outside Concord, Mass. in 2002, there was, as she put it “nowhere to go to get them processed.” While she had the option of slaughtering her chickens in her own backyard, Hashley knew that selling her chickens would be easier if she used a licensed slaughterhouse.

Twenty-five percent of US adult shoppers frequently buy organic foodOrganic Consumers - 11/23/2009.The report "Ethical Food and Beverage, Personal Care and Household Products in the U.S." states that despite the economic downturn of 2008-2009, ethical grocery products are continuing to make headway in the market, especially when contrasted with the relatively flat market for conventional groceries.

The fungus among usPortland Press Herald - 11/22/2009.By Tom Atwell – Greg Marley became fascinated with mushrooms as a teenager. He grew up in New Mexico but spent several summers in New York and Pennsylvania, where he discovered mushrooms. He serves as volunteer mushroom consultant to the New England Poison Control Center, publishes an Internet newsletter called Coastal Maine Mushrooming, is proprietor of a business called Mushrooms for Health, and lectures and writes about mushrooms.

Learning organic farming: looking back or moving forwardTreehugger - 11/22/2009.By Sami Grover – From its Organic Products Awards to debating whether air freighted produce can be organic, the UK's Soil Association has long been both an advocate for, and a pioneer of, organic foods. Now their Organic Farm School initiative is offering farmers, small holders and food enthusiasts alike the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of growing crops, rearing animals, and preparing food. I just wonder if it needs to feel so folksy.

6:30 p.m., Bernard Osher Foundation Auditorium, Portland Museum of Art. Hear Christy Hemenway from Gold Star Honeybees, Heather Spalding, MOFGA deputy director, and Fedco Seeds founder CR Lawn talk about our pollinators and the national and local issues that concern them and our food supply. Maine honey and mead tasting to follow. A Community Collaboration between Portland Museum of Art and MOFGA. Free for PMA and MOFGA members ($10 for the general public). Schedule and details.

6 to 9 p.m. Classes held in locations throughout Maine to give gardeners the skills and knowledge to transition from conventional to organic gardening. Registration: typically $5 to cover handouts. Information with class locations.

Locations: Common Ground Education Center in Unity with Jen Ries, or College of the Atlantic in Mount Desert with C.J. Walke. Learn to propagate and reproduce your favorite fruit tree varieties. Participants graft trees to take home and plant. $50 per person. Information and registration.

Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., East Sangerville Grange. Presented in partnership by East Sangerville Grange, Piscataquis County Soil & Water Conservation District, and Maine Highlands MOFGA Chapter. Speakers will cover topics of interest to both gardeners and commercial farmers. Doors open at 9:30. Light lunch will be provided. For directions go to www.grange.org/eastsangervilleme177/ or call Erin Callaway at 343-0171. RSVPs appreciated to make lunch planning easier.

9 a.m. to the afternoon, MOFGA’s Maine Heritage Orchard in Unity. We'll start with a demonstration on how to plant a tree. All ages are welcome. Bring a shovel, lunch, friends and kids. No charge. FMI: MOFGA.org or apples@mofga.org.